Equation 3 · Part 1 · Einstein's Random Walk and the Mathematics of Genetic Drift
Symbol x^2
What this part means
The square of x: multiply x by itself.
Its job in the formula
is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.
Full expression→Symbol x^2→Article meaning
The passage around this formula
the diffusion equation, in a form still written the same way today [ 1 ] . Solving it for particles released from a point gives a spreading distribution whose variance grows linearly, not with the square root of time as a naive guess might suggest but as . with the diffusion constant D fixed by measurable quantities. Einstein derived it explicitly, from the balance between the drag on a sphere of radius P in a fluid of viscosity k and the osmotic pressure driving diffusion, as
Learn the underlying idea
An exponent tells how a base is used in multiplication. In x³, x is the base and 3 is the exponent: x³ = x × x × x.
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Sources cited in the surrounding passage
These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.